CHERUBIMS

The Bible makes mention of a peculiar group of creatures
referred to as Cherubims. These creatures are first
encountered in our reading of Godís Word in Genesis 3:24.

Gen 3:24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east
of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which
turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

Throughout this preparatory study, we will discuss the
various instances throughout the Bible in which these
creatures are mentioned and determine what purpose they
serve in Godís plan. I say preparatory because the Lord
has shown grace to us in our studies by way of impartation
of various revelations regarding cherubims. And it is
necessary for you, the reader, to take special note of the
basic instances where these creatures are mentioned in Godís
Word and what they appear to represent before we can truly
explain the deeper thoughts regarding their part in the
message which God desires His children to know today, for
such wonderful thoughts from Godís Spirit have much to do
with our Christianity today! We pray you may continue your
own search into Godís Word to enhance your understanding of
His truths as you share these studies with us.

FIRST MENTION

The Bible has a principle that people have discovered
through comparison of cross references in the holy writ. It
may be called the principle of first mention. This
principle states that the first mention of an element or a
thing in Godís Word, in consideration of the setting in
which this thing is first mentioned along with itís purpose
in that setting and the circumstances of associated use in
that setting, will determine similar thoughts in following
instances where the particular element is again mentioned.
For example, the number SEVEN is first used in Genesis when
God rested after completing His work in making the world.
So, number 7 denotes completion and fullness. This is
clearly seen in many, many instances in which the number
seven is mentioned in other places of the Bible.

Gen 8:4 And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the
seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.

Jesus told Peter that he had to forgive people for as many
times as they seek his forgiveness, not simply 490 times.
Some have called 70 times 7 the multiplication of
perfection, knowing that the number 7 denotes completeness
or perfection. Peter had to have COMPLETE forgiveness for
people.

One could go on and on, but clearly we see how the first
mention of a thing determines a hint as to itís meaning in
following instances in which the same element is mentioned
throughout the Word of God.

The first mention of Cherubims has much to say about the
relationship which cherubims have in the Word of God and in
His plan throughout the remainder of the Bible, for these
creatures are mentioned time and again.

GUARDIANS OF EDEN

Let us find the setting of these creatures as they are first
mentioned in the Bible. In Genesis 3:24, these creatures
stood vigil in front of the seeming single, eastern entrance
to the garden of Eden to bar man from entering in and
gaining access to the Tree of Life. We know that this was
the only entrance to the Garden, for God would have
otherwise placed similar guardians around the complete
circumference of the garden. Therefore, a wall or some
other kind of barrier, possibly natural vegetation,
surrounded the Garden keeping out all that was not intended
to enter.

So the aspect of guardianship was involved with the
first mention of cherubims. They were said to have been put
there that they might keep the way of the garden. The
word keep is defined as to guard or protect in
the Bible. And the fact that these creatures were placed in
this position of protection after man fell into sin is also
very notable. And we must keep these thoughts in mind when
we read other references to the Cherubims in the Bible in
order to determine what messages God is saying to us in the
mere mention of them in the various settings we find them
involved with. These creatures are seen in the most strange
settings. And without comparing the various references to
them, and their various involvements in each of the
associated settings, it will be rather difficult to
determine the reason for their presence. We do know, by
common sense itself, that God does nothing without purpose
and meaning. And since the Bible is the Word from God which
has been given to man for the purpose of leading man to
salvation, there is an aspect of our salvation with which
these cherubims are involved. Otherwise they would never
have played a part in anything in Godís Word. And this
makes perfect sense, too, for the first mention of these
beings involved the scene where Adam lost place in
fellowship with God in the Garden, making it necessary for
God to redeem mankind to Himself again. The whole reason we
have Godís Word to us today is that we must be saved due to
Adamís transgression!

THEIR APPEARANCE

Ezekiel seen a vision, not an actual physical sighting, of a
chariot, as some have called it.

Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one
wheel upon the earth by the living creatures, with his four
faces.
The appearance of the wheels and their work was
like unto the colour of a beryl: and they four had one
likeness: and their appearance and their work was as it were
a wheel in the middle of a wheel.
When they went, they went upon their four sides:
and they turned not when they went.
As for their rings, they were so high that they
were dreadful; and their rings were full of eyes round about
them four.
And when the living creatures went, the wheels
went by them: and when the living creatures were lifted up
from the earth, the wheels were lifted up.
Whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went,
thither was their spirit to go; and the wheels were lifted
up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature
was in the wheels.
When those went, these went; and when those
stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the
earth, the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the
spirit of the living creature was in the wheels. (Ezekiel 1:15-21)

Wheels within wheels were beside each of the four cherubims.

An expanse of sorts stood over the heads of the cherubims
like a platform.

Ezek 1:22 And the likeness of the firmament upon the heads
of the living creature was as the colour of the terrible
crystal, stretched forth over their heads above.

A throne was positioned on top of the firmament over their
heads.

Ezek 1:26 And above the firmament that was over their heads
was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a
sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the
likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.

It seems a theophany of God, Himself, sat on the throne.
And comparison of this passage with the Book of Revelation
proves most enlightening!

And I saw as the colour of amber, as the
appearance of fire round about within it, from the
appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance
of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance
of fire, and it had brightness round about. (Ezekiel 1:27)

And I turned to see the voice that spake with me.
And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;
And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one
like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the
foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.
His head and his hairs were white like wool, as
white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;
And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they
burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many
waters. (Rev. 1:12-15)

John saw Jesus as One with legs life burning brass, just as
Ezekiel saw One on the throne with the appearance of fire
from His loins downward. And John saw Jesus with a golden
girdle about His paps, while Ezekiel saw God with the colour
of amber from His loins upward. They saw the same One!

He mentions that four such cherubims stood on the
chariot at seemingly four corners.

And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of
the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a
brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the
colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire.
Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of
four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they
had the likeness of a man.
And every one had four faces, and every one had
four wings.
And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of
their feet was like the sole of a calf's foot: and they
sparkled like the colour of burnished brass.
And they had the hands of a man under their wings
on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their
wings.
Their wings were joined one to another; they
turned not when they went; they went every one straight
forward.
As for the likeness of their faces, they four had
the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right
side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side;
they four also had the face of an eagle.
Thus were their faces: and their wings were
stretched upward; two wings of every one were joined one to
another, and two covered their bodies.
And they went every one straight forward: whither
the spirit was to go, they went; and they turned not when
they went.
As for the likeness of the living creatures,
their appearance was like burning coals of fire, and like
the appearance of lamps: it went up and down among the
living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the
fire went forth lightning. (Ezekiel 1:4-13)

Later, he saw these same creatures, and called them
cherubims.

Ezek 10:1 Then I looked, and, behold, in the firmament that
was above the head of the cherubims there appeared over them
as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the
likeness of a throne.

We know these are the same creatures as seen in chapter 1
because of the identical description as that which is found
in Chapter 1 of the four living creatures.

Ezek 10:14 And every one had four faces: the first face was
the face of a cherub, and the second face was the face of a
man, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the
face of an eagle.

It is interesting to compare these cherubimsí faces with a
particular note concerning Adam in the Bible. We will find
that the mention of cherubims at the Garden of Eden is not
the only thing which connected Adam with these beings.

CHERUBIMS AND CREATION

Gen 2:20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl
of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam
there was not found an help meet for him.

Adam named specifically the cattle, beasts and fowl. Now
cattle refers to domesticated animals, whereas
beasts refers to undomesticated animals. And a lion is
a beast. Oxen are cattle. And, of course, eagles
are fowl. So Adam already had an intimate connection
with the cherubims before he even fell, since three of the
four faces of these cherubims represented the very four
classes of animals which Adam named! And since the fourth
face was of man, himself, we see the intimate connection
most plainly!

CHERUBIMS AND NOAH

There is another instance when these four specific classes
of creatures were noted by God.

Gen 9:9 And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you,
and with your seed after you;
Gen 9:10 And with every living creature that is with you,
of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth
with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of
the earth.

God made a covenant with Noah, a man, and the fowl, cattle
and beasts! Every MAJOR event that affected creation moved
God to indicate something special about these four classes
of creatures. For whatever reason He excluded fish and
creeping things, we may not altogether understand. However,
we can see something special with these four classes. And
that is enough to link together some thoughts.

CHERUBIMS AND MOSES

Moses even spoke about Cherubims when God gave him
instruction to build the tabernacle.

And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of
beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the
mercy seat. Exo 25:18

The Mercy Seat was actually the lid for the ark of the
covenant. This ark, or chest, proved to be the item of
furniture within the tabernacle upon which Godís voice
was actually heard, and spoken to the one, single individual
who could enter the room in which it was placed.

And when Moses was gone into the tabernacle of the
congregation to speak with him, then he heard the voice of
one speaking unto him from off the mercy seat that was upon
the ark of testimony, from between the two cherubims: and he
spake unto him. Num 7:89

It was a secluded room, and accessible only by the single
individual chosen to be High Priest, besides Moses. This
man would enter the room called the Holiest of Holies once a
year on the day of atonement to offer the blood in order to
atone for Israelís sins committed each year.

Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering,
that is for the people, and bring his blood within the veil,
and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the
bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the
mercy seat:
And he shall make an atonement for the holy
place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel,
and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and
so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that
remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness.
And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of
the congregation when he goeth in to make an atonement in
the holy place, until he come out, and have made an
atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all
the congregation of Israel. (Leviticus 16:15-17)

The entrance to the secluded room was barred by a veil.
And it is most enlightening to notice that, as the garden
entrance was blocked by the cherubims, the veil which
blocked entry into the holiest had images of cherubims on
it, too!

And thou shalt make a veil of blue, and purple,
and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with
cherubims shall it be made:
And thou shalt hang it upon four pillars of
shittim wood overlaid with gold: their hooks shall be of
gold, upon the four sockets of silver.
And thou shalt hang up the veil under the taches,
that thou mayest bring in thither within the veil the ark of
the testimony: and the veil shall divide unto you between
the holy place and the most holy. (Exodus 26:31-33)

GUARDIANS IN THE TABERNACLE

We see, then, cherubims guarding the entrance to the Garden,
and also guarding the entrance into the most holy place.
Notice, also, the wording regarding the cherubims on the
mercy seat of the ark.

And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of
beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the
mercy seat.
And make one cherub on the one end, and the other
cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye
make the cherubims on the two ends thereof.
And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings
on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their
faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall
the faces of the cherubims be.
And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the
ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I
shall give thee.
And there I will meet with thee, and I will
commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between
the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony,
of all things which I will give thee in commandment (Exodus 25:18-22)

These creatures were represented as guarding the mercy seat
since they COVERED it with their wings. Seeing that Godís
Word offers eternal life (John 6:63,68), and the fruit from
the tree of life offered man eternal life, we can see a
definite parallel. We know that Jesusí truth was unrevealed
during the period of time before He came.

Mat 13:17 For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and
righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see,
and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye
hear, and have not heard them.

REMOVAL OF GUARDIANS AT THE CRUCIFIXION

These truths were hidden from mankind. Could it be that the
guardianship of the cherubims over the mercy seat where
Godís WORD spoke represented the MYSTERY of the Word being
hidden from man, which gives eternal life, until Christ
came!

And when Christ died, something else that was most notable
happened.

Mat 27:50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice,
yielded up the ghost.
Mat 27:51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in
twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake,
and the rocks rent;

That was the veil which had the cherubims in it! And we
know that eternal life came to us through Christís death,
since He died that we might be freed from Adamís heritage of
bondage to sin. We gained access to the tree of life,
figuratively speaking, that we might have eternal life
through Christís death.

1 Cor 15:20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and
become the firstfruits of them that slept.
1 Cor 15:21 For since by man came death, by man came also
the resurrection of the dead.
1 Cor 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall
all be made alive.

CHERUBIMS AND REVELATION

We have seen the appearance of the Cherubims as witnessed by
the prophet Ezekiel as each having the four faces of a lion,
an ox, an eagle and a man. These same faces are seen on
what John the Revelator called four beasts in his book
of Revelation.

Rev 4:6 And before the throne there was a sea of glass like
unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round
about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and
behind.

Rev 4:7 And the first beast was like a lion, and the second
beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man,
and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.

BEAST in this passage is translated from the Greek word
zoon, meaning a live thing. Ezekiel called the
Cherubims living creatures in his first chapter.

Ezek 1:5 Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of
four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they
had the likeness of a man.

Therefore we clearly see that the beasts of Revelation
are the Cherubims of the Old Testament. The aspect of
guardianship is also seen in Revelation, for these beasts
stand around the throne of God in heaven, just as the
cherubims were seen about the ark of the covenant and its
mercy seat, or mercy throne. .

GUARDIANS IN THE TEMPLE

After the tabernacle was removed from Israelís history,
Solomon erected a temple in Jerusalem with basically the
same layout as the Tabernacle. The temple, too, had a
courtyard with a holy place and a holiest of holies. And
whereas the ark sat in the holiest place of the tabernacle
alone, the templeís holiest place not only had the ark of
the covenant, but also two giant cherubims made from olive
wood and covered with gold.

And within the oracle he made two cherubims of
olive tree, each ten cubits high.
And five cubits was the one wing of the cherub,
and five cubits the other wing of the cherub: from the
uttermost part of the one wing unto the uttermost part of
the other were ten cubits.
And the other cherub was ten cubits: both the
cherubims were of one measure and one size.
The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and
so was it of the other cherub.
And he set the cherubims within the inner house:
and they stretched forth the wings of the cherubims, so that
the wing of the one touched the one wall, and the wing of
the other cherub touched the other wall; and their wings
touched one another in the midst of the house.
And he overlaid the cherubims with gold. (1 Kings 6:23-28)

The ark was then placed underneath these giant creatures.

1 Ki 8:6 And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant
of the LORD unto his place, into the oracle of the house, to
the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims.
1 Ki 8:7 For the cherubims spread forth their two wings
over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark
and the staves thereof above.

So, not only was the presence of cherubims associated with
the expulsion of mankind from the Garden, and the deluge of
Noah, but they were also associated with the very important
ceremonies involved with the tabernacle and temple worship.
Their presence played an important role in the most serious
and important dealings of God with mankind. We have seen
their presence in the Garden of Eden and in the book of
Revelation! Their meaning, therefore, has something to do
with the inception of sin and the ending of sin.

FALLEN CREATION TO BE RESTORED

The fact that we see the presence of the face of a Lion and
the face of an Ox upon each Cherub indicates another truth.
The coming of Jesus Christ promised to accomplish some
wonderful events, along with the great salvation made
available to all mankind. Isaiah prophesied of His coming
in Chapter 11 of his book, and in that same chapter we read:

Isa 11:5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his
loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.
Isa 11:6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the
leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the
young lion and the fatling together; and a little child
shall lead them.

The calf and the young lion would dwell together. Now,
today this would be impossible, for the two animals are
enemies since lions eat calves of oxen. However, before Adam
fell, they did not.

Gen 1:29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb
bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and
every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding
seed; to you it shall be for meat.
Gen 1:30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl
of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth,
wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for
meat: and it was so.

The picture in Isaiah shows a restorative thought in regards
to creation. Some interpret this as a literal restoration
of animal behaviour to itís originally designed state, while
others maintain the picture in Isaiah represents a spiritual
union of peoples who once were violent and damaging into
non-violent personalities by the changing power of Christís
Spirit within. Either way, the thought of restoration is
still the main thought. And the Cherubims are definitely
linked with Christís salvation in some form of symbolism.

The greatest restoration we can imagine is that of mankind
being restored into fellowship with God once again. And
that occurs through Jesus Christ, our Saviour.

Many of these points discussed will be discussed further in
following studies, along with expansion of them, but
suffice this study to be a preparation of basic
understandings concerning the truth that the cherubims are
representative creatures that have a major role in
symbolizing truths regarding Godís great plan of restoring
mankind to God through salvation.